Delia’s Departure

Chap. 1

And they all lived happily ever after. Then there was one. Not a part of their “they”, this wonderfully candid beauty held the heart of a lion. They ridiculed her but Delia was above that. All her life she was treated like dirt even though she was a princess. Most people in this situation would get even, but not Delia. She was special. On the night of her eighteenth birthday she simply left, never to return.

“Have you seen Delia?” the queen’s shrill voice rang out and gave everyone near a sudden chill. She reined alone, her late husband, the king, died several years before in a terrible fire when Delia was young. People said it was arson. Everyone was sure it was the queen. Candilonia was a happy place before the death of the dear king. There was peace and content but when the queen took over the throne, there was terror and dismay.

“Someone find her!” it was like nails scraping hard against a chalkboard.

“I haven’t seen her all night.” a maid stammered, fearing for her life at what the queen’s reaction might be.

“I went through all this trouble for that ungrateful rat and this is how she repays me?! By not showing up to her own birthday party! The whole kingdom is here! If it hadn’t been my husbands last request to take care of his only daughter then she would be out on her butt before anyone could say Happy Birthday!” her rant wasn’t pointless. It was true, the whole kingdom was there. At least the people that mattered to the queen. All the rich, famous, and powerful, that’s all she cared about. There was not one person there that Delia herself would’ve wanted at her party. She was also right about the king. After they pulled him out of the burning barn, where he was tending to his horses, he had been alive for a good ten minutes. He said he wanted his little girl to be taken care of by her step-mother, the queen. The king loved his horses. Everyone said he left this world doing what he loved. Delia got her love for animals from him. The queen hated this.

“She’s probably out with Ripgol.” said one brave waiter. Ripgol was her horse, her prized possession, and her best friend. This enraged the queen.

“Find her and bring her to me!” That night they searched everywhere. After realizing Ripgol was missing they knew something was wrong.

Never had she felt so free. The wind in her hair was refreshing, a grand change from the stale castle air, and she didn’t plan on stopping until she was so far away that there was no chance of them finding her. There was no one to stop her now. She was going to have an adventure, like all the books she had read, somewhere no one knew her name. She kept on riding through the night, she was exhausted but she didn’t stop. Over a day had passed, she wasn’t sure the exact time, she had lost count. She stopped to rest under the shade of a tree. She awoke in the middle of the night, thinking that she heard shouts of her name, she quickly woke Ripgol and kept riding.

In the morning, as she was topping a rather large hill, she was astounded by a beautiful sight. It was so simple, just people being people. It was a small village with a well in the center. She thought it looked perfect for her. It was far enough away that no one would know of her. She decided it would be the perfect place to stop for a while. She had no idea what was in store.

She rode through the street and people looked up from their washing and cleaning, smiling and waving to her. She loved that. They didn’t even know her and they were already nicer to her than her own family. She was instantly hooked on this place. Looking up close, she could really see the cute little well in the middle of the town, kind of like a centerpiece. The whole feel of this place was amazing, like a dream.

She was knocked out of her dreamlike state, quite literally, when she was suddenly hit by something. She looked up to see a little boy and his father playing ball. The father rushed over.

“I am so sorry, miss! This was my fault! Me and my son were playing… oh, we should have been more careful… I am so sorry!” he had amazing eyes. They were filled with emotion. She was so lost in them that she hardly realized that it took her several seconds to respond to his repetitive apologies.

“Oh, it’s not a problem! Not at all!” he helped her off her horse as they engaged in conversation.

“ I am Niken Forns. This is my son, Earnge. We live here in Rushtak. And you are?” she had almost forgotten her name and where she came from, she was so caught up in the excitement.

“Oh, I am Prin… erm I mean, Delia, I am Delia. I came from a village, far from here. I thought that I might explore the countryside and maybe travel around a bit. Possibly find a new place to settle down.” that wasn’t far from the truth. She did want a new place to settle down and she did come from far.

“Well, Miss Delia, is there anything I can do for you?” he looked so strong, so handsome, she found herself wondering what his wife might look like. She was probably beautiful, slim, and well rounded as opposed to her petite self, with sparse feminine features she looked closer to 12 rather than 18.

“Well, now that you mention it, I have had a long trip and would love a place to rest, it wouldn’t be long…” she couldn’t even finish her sentence.

“Say no more! My house is your house!” he was so kind and caring.

“Your wife won’t mind?” she asked.

This was obviously a sore subject because at that time he told his son to go play somewhere else. He turned to her with a look of despair on his face.

“My wife passed away. She was out by the river when she slipped, she was holding my son, he was almost two years old, she was screaming, I was a little further up the river and I heard her. I ran as fast as I could, but when I got there, she was gone, taken away by the river, my son was crying on the shore.

Delia was in shock. She was not expecting this and as mean as it may have sounded she was kind of relieved that he wasn’t married.

“I… I am so sorry,” that was all she could say. He turned his head and looked away for a minute.

“Well, my house is this way. I’ll show you to your room.” He said in a voice much more glum than it had been before, but still covered up with a mask of happiness and with that they were on their way and she was getting deeper and deeper into this new life that she was creating for herself, leaving much to be discovered and little to be forgotten.

She had no idea that back at the castle the queen had different plans.